On a Snowy Christmas Night
by southsidesister
Summary: It looks like Lorelai is spending Christmas Eve alone so she invites a friend. Rory's in college but Luke and Lorelai are not dating.


ON A SNOWY CHRISTMAS NIGHT

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino

Author's note: This is my first fic, so please review but be gentle. Happy Holidays!

Lorelai stormed into the diner. It was after nine on Christmas Eve. A voice from the back called "We're closed".

"It's me. I need coffee". She had just come from her parents Christmas party. They had had another fight and Lorelai couldn't take it anymore. Not this year, not while Rory wasn't around. Luke walked out of the kitchen and gave her a smile. "Hi, tough night?" he asked.

"Ugh, I hate my parents! We can't get through one dinner without them blaming me for every decision Rory makes." "You shouldn't have let Rory spend Christmas with her friends, she should have been here, with her family. God, like I don't know that!!!" She threw her hands up in the air with frustration. "I wish she was here, but she can't be spending all her time here anymore. She's in college now, she's growing up." Her voice trailed off as she realised what she had just said.

Luke had poured her a cup of coffee while she had ranted. "I'm sorry she's not here. Is there anything I can do?"

Lorelai set her cup down and looked up to him. After a moment of hesitation she said: "Well, maybe there is." A little surprised by this, he looked at her questioningly. "Spend Christmas Eve with me," she said. "The diner is empty and it's only nine o'clock and, I would hate to be alone tonight." She looked up at him to see his response. Luke was clearly surprised. She continued: "So what do you say? Maybe we can watch a movie or something, have some dinner, 'cause I'm starving." "Unless, of course, you have other plans".

He still looked at her with surprise. Had she just asked him to spend Christmas Eve with him? Wow, never in a million years had he expected to spend Christmas Eve with _her_.

"Uhm, Luke, hello, earth to Luke?"

"Uhm….yeah….uh, I, uh, I would like that, sure. Let me just…uh….take a shower and I'll be right back".

"Ok, great". She was relieved she wouldn't be spending the night alone, 'cause now Luke would be keeping her company. Luke. Did he seem nervous just now? He did a little, but why? It wasn't like they had never spent an evening together. She took another sip of her coffee as her mind wandered back to the dinner at her parent's house.

A few minutes later, Luke was ready. He had shaved and for the first time she noticed his blue eyes, probably because of the blue shirt he was wearing. He walked passed her and opened the door. Wow, she thought to herself, he smells really good too. She smiled to herself as she stepped outside. She had always found it strange that Luke was a bachelor. She knew he looked good and that he could be really sweet. The thought of dating him had occurred to her in the past, but as the years went by and their friendship grew stronger, she knew she could never date him, afraid of losing the friendship.

The weather was cold. It felt like it was going to snow, but no forecast had confirmed it. Luke acted less nervous as they went to Al's Pancake World for some take out.

Luke followed Lorelai into her house. They sat the food on the table and turned the television on. Every channel was showing a Christmas movie and when she was flipping through the channels, she found It's A Wonderful Life which had just started. They both decided that it was a good pick for Christmas Eve so they sat back and ate their dinners.

Halfway through the movie Luke heard Lorelai sniffling. He turned to face her and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the movie."

"Lorelai, nothing happened for the last 10 minutes."

"I know, it's very saddening."

"Lorelai…"

"I just… her voice trailed off. She knew that saying it would make it more real, which would cause her tears to flow freely. He moved closer to her and put his arm around her. "It's ok."

"I miss her" she said. As her tears began to flow, she cradled her face into his chest.

"I know, she misses you too, you know. You'll be fine. You'll see her in a few days."

"I know, it's just…."

"Ssshh, it's ok." He was stroking her hair gently.

After a few minutes, Lorelai lifted her head up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…."

"Nah, forget about it", he cut her off. "It's ok."

She smiled, thanking God she wasn't alone. "You want another beer?"

"Sure, I'll go get them", he offered.

"No, I got it." She got up and patted his leg, giving him a smile which he interpret as a thank you. He watched her as she walked into the kitchen.

She took a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Because she had been distracted, she had failed to notice that it had started to snow. She walked back into the living room with their drinks and put them on the table. She sat down next to him and leaned back, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He gently squeezed her arm as they continued to watch the movie.

After an hour or so, the movie finished. Finally, Lorelai moved her head to stretch. Neither one of them had moved an inch since she got back with the drinks.

There were now a few inches of snow covering the town when Lorelai went to the kitchen for some drinks. As soon as she looked out of the window, she started screaming. "Luke, Luke, look outside!!! It's snowing!!!"

Luke, shocked by her screaming, jumped up and started walking to the kitchen. Lorelai came running passed him and out the front door. After he had figured out what was happening, he went to the front door and stepped down the porch.

He didn't see Lorelai anywhere so he called out to her, or at least he tried before a snowball hit him on his back. He quickly turned around to find Lorelai standing around the corner of the house with another snowball in her hand and a large smile on her face.

A small grin appeared on his face when he realised she wanted a snowball fight. He kneeled down to make a snowball when the second one hit him on his shoulder. Part of it hit his neck and the ice was now dripping down his shirt.

"Ooh, you've done it now," he said.

Luke started walking towards her. When she realised what she had gotten herself into, she started to run. Luke chased her around the house until he finally caught up with her when she was trying to grab some snow. He was about to smear some snow down her neck, when he tripped and pulled her down with him. They both lay in the snow, still trying to cover the other one with snow. Lorelai finally yelled: "Ok, ok, I give," when she realised she was fighting a losing battle.

Both were trying to catch their breaths as they lay in the snow, laughing.

When Lorelai turned to face Luke, she saw that he was looking at her intently. He wiped the hairs from her face and smiled at her. Unsure of what to do, she threw some snow in his face.

"Playing hardball, aren't we?" He grabbed her arm and rolled her on her back and he positioned himself on top of her.

"So now what?" he asked.

The attraction between them was undeniable now. Their faces were only inches away. They were staring at each other before she lifted up her head and he kissed her softly. He gently stroked her now wet hair.

Even though only hours ago she had wished Christmas was over, she now didn't want it to end.

There was no other place right now she would rather be than here with Luke in the snow.

Luke pulled back and lifted her upon her feet. "Let's get inside before we freeze to death."

She laced her fingers through his as he followed her into the house. Luke couldn't help but smile.

Both were soaking wet and Lorelai offered to put their clothes in the dryer. Lorelai gave Luke some sweatpants and a sweater and he went into Rory's room to change. Luke smiled to himself, happy that he had finally found the courage to kiss Lorelai and maybe even happier about the fact that she had returned the kiss. He hoped that she would be ok with all of it. Even though she had taken _his _hand, she might change her mind.

Lorelai went upstairs to change. She too couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure what was gonna happen now. This was Luke, her friend, the man she saw every day. He had always been there for her, what if it didn't work out? Did she want to risk this friendship that meant so much to her? But then again, his kiss was amazing. She never expected Luke to be such a great kisser. Her mind was telling her to be careful, but every bone in her body was telling her to go for it.

She knew she had to get downstairs. She figured she would just see what the evening would bring. It was after all Christmas Eve. It was snowing. Magic was in the air. She pulled a blanket from the hallway closet and made her way downstairs.

Lorelai couldn't help but look when she walked passed Rory's bedroom. Luke was putting on the sweater she had given him and for the first time she saw his abs. She smiled to herself and wondered why she had never noticed it before.

"Like what you're seeing?" he asked with a smile when he saw her looking at him.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" her voice trailed off as he approached her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. Still not sure of what to think of what happened before, she draped her arms around his neck and he kissed her again, but this time he pulled her body close to his and deepened the kiss.

After a while, they broke apart to catch their breaths. Lorelai pulled back and gestured towards the coffeemaker. "You want some coffee or tea, or something?" she asked.

A little disappointed, he said: "Sure, tea would be good."

He watched her as she clumsily dropped the coffee on the counter. "Lorelai, are you ok?" he asked with a little concern. "If you want me to go, I can go, no problem".

"No, no, I'm ok, I just ehm…" she couldn't say anything, afraid that it might drive him away. "I don't want you to leave, I want you to stay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Could you maybe go light the fireplace, it's freezing in here." She was kind of nervous being around him now, but she wanted him here.

"Sure." Still not convinced she wanted him to stay, Luke walked into the living room. Should he say anything? No, it's up to her now. He quickly lit the fireplace and anxiously waited for her to join him in the living room.

Lorelai walked into the room carrying their drinks. She sat the on the table but walked over to the fire and sat down on the floor in front of it. She gestured for Luke to come join her. When he did, Lorelai took his hand in hers.

"I'm really glad you wanted to spend Christmas Eve with me," she said with a smile. She moved closer to him and placed her lips on his. A wave of relief came over him and allowed him to deepen the kiss.

After a while, Lorelai stood up and walked over to the coffee table to get their drinks. She walked back over to him and sat in between his legs and rested her body against his.

The snow kept falling as they warmed their bodies in more ways than one.

THE END


End file.
